Mel Kiper shares what Georgia game did for CJ Stroud's draft stock

NFL Draft boards are beginning to take shape and one player who definitely helped himself out in college football’s postseason was Ohio State‘s CJ Stroud. In fact CJ Stroud’s draft stock likely got a significant boost despite the Buckeyes getting bounced in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Why, exactly?

Stroud was able to show some things against elite competition that he mostly didn’t face outside of a few games in his Ohio State career.

“It did a lot because this was a first time, we saw him deal with adversity,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper said. “It wasn’t just pitch and catch against Georgia. They were six-and-a-half point underdogs.”

Despite the loss, Stroud finished the game 23-of-34 passing for 348 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He even showed a little bit more wiggle than he had the rest of the year, adding 34 yards rushing.

But importantly, for Kiper, he finally demonstrated that he could be a real difference-maker in a game against an elite opponent. After an earlier loss to Michigan, that was at least somewhat in doubt.

Georgia game gave big boost to CJ Stroud’s draft stock

Kiper expanded on what he saw from Stroud during the Georgia game.

“Standing there on the move, making an accurate throw down the field,” he said, “That’s what you saw that he’s capable of, that you didn’t see during the career at Ohio State on a game-to-game basis. We know about his accuracy; we know about the ability to do the job at all levels throwing the football.

“Here, though, against adversity, against the rush, had guys in his face, he was making accurate strikes. To me, that put him in the mix to be QB1 for a lot of people.”

More on the 2023 NFL Draft

The 2023 NFL Draft is set to take place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The event will be held at the plaza just outside of Union Station.

Round 1 of the NFL Draft is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 27. Rounds 2-3 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Apr. 28, and Rounds 4-7 will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 29. The draft will be broadcasted throughout the weekend on both ESPN and NFL Network.

To be eligible for the NFL Draft, players must be at least three years removed from their final year of high school while having used up their collegiate eligibility. Underclassmen are able to request league approval to become eligible for the draft, as are players who have graduated prior to using up all of their collegiate eligibility. 100 underclassman were approved for last year’s draft. 73 of those 100 underclassmen were granted special eligibility while 27 of them were underclassmen who had completed their college degrees.

The 2023 NFL scouting combine will take place from Feb. 28 through March 6 in Indianapolis.